NUMBER 36 SPRING
2011

Editorial: tax expenditures for private health
insurance, home ownership, private education and
compulsory superannuation cause inequality by
‘crowding out’ spending on public infrastructure and
first home buyers in favour of investors. Plus:
Gillard’s small, but significant, action on climate
change.

Paul Tranter
points out that the ‘effective speed’ of motoring must
take into account the direct costs paid by the motorist
(depreciation, fuel, insurance, registration, parking
tolls).When the time spent earning the money is taken
into account, the travel time compares far less
favourably with the alternatives.

Mark Diesendorf
says that nuclear energy is a very dangerous,
complicated and expensive way of boiling water which is
not a sensible alternative to renewable energy in the
production of base-load electricity.

Graham Palmer
argues that because base-load electricity cannot be
stored and wind and solar power are dependent on the
wind and sun, renewable energy must be backed up by
fossil or nuclear base-load capacity.

Simon Marginson
points out that the rationale for the introduction of
full university fees for humanities and social science
subjects by the UK’s Cameron Government is that all the
benefits of these studies accrue to the individual—i.e.
that possession of an Arts degree is useless to society.

Trevor Cobbold
shows that students in low socio-economic status (SES)
government schools are on average three to five years
behind the learning of students in the highest SEC
government and private schools and yet, for the most
part, they have less than half the funding per student
of high SES private schools.

James Rowe
states that a drugs policy focussing on health as
distinct from a punitive response would shift the
disproportionate consumption (approximately 80%) of the
drug budget invested in supply reduction towards harm
minimisation strategies.

Jane Martin
explains that obesity cost Australia $58 billion in 2008
and that the powerful societal and economic forces which
profit from this situation must be confronted.

Jennifer Doggett
describes how the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, one of
Australia’s most successful welfare policies, has come
under political pressure because of rising costs—even
though the scheme remains cost effective because it
leads to reduced costs elsewhere in the health system.

George Seymour
notes that 90% of farmed animals are raised intensively
in factory farms. He sees this as an ethical issue and
argues that animal rights should be recognised in law.

Andrew Johnston
contends that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has
largely become a PR exercise to enhance the ‘brand
image’ and shareholder value of companies when real CSR
should be the assumption of corporate responsibility for
the social and environmental costs their economic
activities create.

Ken Coghill & Julia Thornton are
ALP members who articulate what they believe are Labor’s
core values and measure these against Julia Gillard’s
policy record in education and industrial relations
policy.

Kelvin Rowley
canvasses the problems exposed in the new UN doctrine of
‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) and how NATO
intervention in Libya under this principle has played
out in practice.

NOTE
FOR EDITORS AND PRODUCERS: For
permission
to reprint articles, or for interviews, contact
Kenneth
Davidson or Lesley Vick on tel/fax 03 9347 7839 or
email dissentmagazine@dissent.com.au

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